Stargazer Joe
by LazerTH
Summary: Before Revan, before the wars, there was Joe.
1. Whispers

Stargazer Joe

By Manuel Sieunarine

Author's note:

My words shall fade with time. There are heroes, however, whose acts are timeless. Though time wears away all else, their deeds live on in the hearts of those they touch.

When heroes die…

When darkness descends…

The great love heroism inspires never fails. It is this spirit that survives all darkness.

888

I envy others. Their first memories are of their parents' faces, a frustrating toy, or even their first pain. It is not so for one such as myself, and I am _one._ Unique. Separate from all others.

"_Wake up."_

The first voice I heard was not that of my parents. Imagine – if you will – what it is like to stare down a dark, empty well. Close your eyes, still your breathing and feel only your heartbeat. Now feel that heartbeat spread to the floor beneath you, to the walls, ceiling, even the screen you now read. It is your heartbeat and yet… it is more.

"_Wake up, Stargazer."_

To think I was that stubborn… it required two promptings before I stirred from the soft warm sleepy darkness. I was still blind, still incomplete, my mother's heartbeat resounding above and around me while my own feeble heart lay silent, waiting to be born.

I am loved… my parents want me… I have meaning. I knew this.

But…

In this midst of this safe quiet peaceful nest there was _another_ pulse. I listened, and its gentle susurrations formed words.

"_I am everywhere within you around you outside you. I am your thoughts your mind your will your spirit your soul. I am your purpose your meaning your life your all."_

I did not resist. How could I? I was at zero, sensing what every other child knew… but this whispering voice brought me from bliss to knowledge. And thus, the first memory I ever possessed was the _other_ heartbeat murmuring that I was not individual or solitary within my own body.

I was a vessel. I still am… to me "I"does not mean myself alone, but me and _something else._ I had no name for this esoteric, egotistical companion until I knew language other than the ambiance of the womb. Then, the Force no longer spoke to me, but it does whisper, as subtle as the specks of light dust motes reflect in sunshine.

It maddens me that in gaining the crude, slapdash sound wave mode of communication that I lost the infinitesimally graceful language of the Force. I could only perceive it as humans perceive insect movement – sporadically, inaccurately and (more often than not) with annoyance.

I knew my parents until I could walk and talk. They were close to me, but never as close as the Force which behaved like my spoilt, aggravating sibling, getting between me and my parents. Whenever I felt safe in my father's arms, it would caution to be wary. When I relaxed on my mother's lap, it would sigh that life is not a comfortable journey. That constant irritation produced no pearl, but it made breaking familial bonds easier (as if that was any sort of consolation!). I did not look back or cry… the Force mentally shrugged and said nothing lasts forever. I angrily asked, "Do _you_ last forever?" and it replied to the effect of, "Yes, did you have any doubts?" with such calm confidence I shut up. My hand never left my Knight's neutral brown robes. I took comfort in their weathered scent and his tranquil mind, and was grateful that the Force did not have any quips to the contrary. Perhaps it was implying that my only peace _is_ the Force, but I knew otherwise when I married.

888

The Jedi Temple on Corellia scampered with life. I couldn't go into a room without some multi-legged creature running along the floor or up the walls. It was there my Knight gave me my very first… flashlight. I didn't know what to make of the cylindrical gray metal handle. I looked at the shiny lens, and received my first lesson. I understood why I wasn't supposed to do that when I pointed it away from me, flipped the switch and a green beam bore a neat round hole in the flooring. My Knight said a bad word and covered that section of the floor with a mat, and it was then I received my second lesson.

From then on I was trained in Shii-Cho, which I called 'basic flashlight handling'. At least the Zabrak in my class thought it was funny, so we were fast friends. Humour was my greatest ally during the curmudgeon of religious rhetoric that accompanied class. They tied a lock of my hair into a braid that fell over my right shoulder. A utility belt with all sorts of queer little gadgets was buckled around my waist. I saw the same set of droll robes day after day after day on my Knight and other tutors, except ours folded over our right shoulders and theirs folded over their left. The same exciting wardrobe went for my class and me. As with any young boy made of flesh and bone, a stupor set in that demanded attention.

So I went ahead and altered the long-cherished Code upheld by the blood and sweat of our predecessors.

"There is no emotion; there is boredom.  
There is no ignorance; there is misdirection.  
There is no passion; there isn't any fashion either.  
There is no chaos; there is disorder.  
There is no death; but we brought a flashlight just in case."

My Zabrak cohort cackled. My Knight overheard us and remanded us to fifty pushups. Nursing sore arms put us off from violating sacred tradition for at least that afternoon.

888

We quickly learnt that conformity is better than pain. We were, however, in excellent physical condition by our first teenage birthday. But that was the time of the divide. No Knight would take my friend as a padawan… he was relegated to some pseudo-Sentinel work on some obscure Outer Rim planet. I had my Knight, and we were Consulars, but I felt the loss of my companion in laughter keenly.

And that mental shrug rippled through my head. _Nothing lasts forever._ I told it to go away, but it took a backseat, crossed its arms and arched the figurative eyebrow.

"Fine, stay… as if you're any help to me."

I thought it smiled.

888

My Knight asked why I muttered under my breath, and I explained "that thrice-damned Force" at which he nodded sagely and said nothing, meaning he knew nothing or very little of my predicament. We were supposed to be greater Force adepts than fighters, so my training never went beyond Shii-Cho for the first two years of my padawan service. Instead, my Knight and I spent long hours cramping our legs in the meditation lotus. Instead of focusing on my breathing and feeling the Force flow evenly through the world around me, I held silent, extended arguments with the latter. We did not communicate with words per se, but with emotions and imagery.

"What do you mean, you don't flow evenly through everything?"

"_You are a man. Do you believe I bother rocks and trees?"_

"No, this is _why_ they are so peaceful."

"_You can learn from them… peace is being satisfied with what you have."_

"I heed my lessons, but I am never satisfied with who I _am."_

"_And _that,_ my very young friend, is why _I_ am here."_

I audibly sighed. My Knight asked what was wrong.

"That thrice-damned Force."

"Ah," he nodded and said nothing.

888

Our first mission came during my sixteenth year under the watchful eyes of my Knight and the Force. In the untamed forests of Dantooine, I assumed Battle Meditation in the safety of the leafy canopy while my Knight did battle with black market Diatium traders with whom negotiations had failed. The mystical connection of the Force, I understood, bonded us. It felt like my parental connection, but was more practical in terms of conflict resolution. By heightening his reaction time, I compensated for their energy shields and greater numbers. Guardians had no such combat difficulties but were more prone to injury. A scavenger, hoping to escape my Knight's blade, had chosen my tree to hide in. I pointed the lightsaber (the proper name for a Jedi flashlight) at his/her face and quickly switched it on and off. The body fell dead, as my Knight finished.

"Padawan, you used a debased technique."

"It worked."

"Tràkata is an assassin style. We are Consulars, arbiters of the Jedi and Republic. You are never to employ such a technique or even the Tràkata again lest you tarnish our titles."

"Yes, sir."

"Why don't you call me 'master'?"

"What part of you has mastered me?"

He threw up his hands in defeat. Signaling for me to follow, we returned to the city to make our report. I thought the Tràkata style was nifty if it involved switching on the saber at the last moment. It would take the opponent completely by surprise…

"_Stop it."_

"What?"

"_You are entertaining the Dark Side."_

"Is it really that bad?"

A blow to the back of my head sent me sprawling. My Knight was also surprised because nobody was there.

"Thrice-damned Force."

"_How's _that_ for the element of surprise?"_

I abandoned happy thoughts of Tràkata style. The Force was sneakier and wickeder by several orders of magnitude. Later on, I realized, it used such childish methods of persuasion because I was still a child. Soon I would come to rely on it… I loathed dependency on that smirking spectre, but its rhetoric from the womb proved to be truth itself.

How I hate admitting defeat.


	2. Training

Now that my Knight realized I resembled an adult and would need to fight now and then, he trained me in the other techniques. Makashi had me flouncing across the floor like a Twi'lek dancer; Soresu tired my arms and hurt my back. Ataru… by the Force, I couldn't even back flip without hitting my head on the mat. Shien was exhausting. Niman was refreshing. It was low impact and adequate for my field of work. My Knight smiled approval.

"It combines the five other Forms into a moderate combat style."

"So I won't have much training?"

"That is its other benefit. You may now concentrate on Force, negotiation and political techniques."

I blanched. Years of book beating and soul-destroying ennui loomed before me.

"Uh… how about Shii-Cho _and_ Niman?"

"Don't wriggle out of your duty, padawan," he chuckled as he walked around me, "Your midi-chlorian count is higher than mine."

"So because of some biological accident I'm following your footsteps?"

He held my shoulders to hold my eyes.

"I tell you this because none else can hear."

That hint of conspiracy received my full interest.

"Do not be chained by the teachings of the Council, Stargazer. There are other ways of life, other paths to follow."

I was too stunned to form a thought.

"The Force is _everywhere,_ Stargazer. All that separates us from the Dark Side is that we, the Jedi, choose to serve its purpose instead of using it to serve us. You are yet young and are not bound by either faith."

He released my shoulders and paced.

"I tell you this… because I believe you are different from the rest. You aren't… submissive to the Jedi teachings, yet you have a strong sense of what you are. Other than that you aren't very good at anything, really."

"Hey."

He laughed shortly.

"I do not say this idly."

He lowered his head, eyes slanted upward at me.

"You can be anything you want to be. So few are given this freedom. Cherish it."

For the first time, I respected him. I stood upright and proud.

"I will. I swear by my name… I will gaze at the stars until the Force shows me the true path."

"Good."

His sigh was one of a man who had found rest at the end of a long and weary road.

"I have fulfilled what you have spoken of all these years."

"What…"

I narrowed my eyes and looked inward.

"You."

"_Indeed."_

888

My Knight sat me down in the Temple archives on Coruscant and left me there for about a month or so in the care of the Librarian. He had gone to Ithor on a bureaucratic mission. Apparently, the loud-throats had a falling-out with the Iridonians because the latter were dodging payment for a large shipment of power cells. The Ithorians had held an innocent captain and crew as 'collateral' until payment was made. I read in the updated files, Ithor's economy could not suffer giving – or lacking – credit. I followed my Knight's progress through the Temple archives, as emissaries visited daily to update galactic history.

During the first week his careful persuasion liberated the captain and crew. The next week brought successful settlement for fair trade – the captain's ship in exchange for the power cells. Puzzled, I jumped to Iridonia's data, because a ship was worth its weight in the selfsame cells. Months ago, the economy had witnessed a huge boost of plasteel and duratanium production upon discovery of alloy mines. That prompted the Iridonians to trade for hyperdrives and navigation systems, resulting in surplus ships. I was impressed – my Knight had chosen this mission because he had already known how to resolve it. Being several steps ahead of the opponent is the key to success in any conflict, and my Knight had proven to be a world-class dejarik player.

888

I wandered out of the archives and away from the tunnel vision associated with prolonged reading. The Librarian permitted my sojourns, as I was skilled enough to fend for myself in normal society. I went there, to the glittering city within the city of Coruscant. I tasted my first alcoholic drink (burned my throat all the way down) and was offered my first death-stick. They could name the thing better if they want to sell it in a public forum! I invisibly nudged the stick-swindler off his parapet. He fell onto an equally shifty weapons dealer on the lower level with a satisfying crash.

"_That's no way for a Consular to act."_

"Oh, shut up."

I received my comeuppance when I saw a pretty Twi'lek onstage and the Force moved a stray chair leg across my boot. I fell face first through her legs and received the kicking of my life. Thrown into the garbage heap outside the bar, I returned to the Temple for a thorough cleansing while that thrice-damned voice tittered in my ear.

888

When my Knight returned I asked him what other business had kept him an extra fortnight. He took me to the target practice room. When we approached the target range unarmed I reminded him, "There are other rooms for Force training."

He held up one finger for silence. Sucking in a breath that distended his chest, he released a booming Force Scream that dented the blast shield at thirty yards! Soldiers and padawans stared, most dropping their blasters in shock.

"It's all right. The Ithorian Jedi taught me."

"That is a Dark Side technique!" I protested.

"No. Their Jedi use it all the time."

"That's because they have the throats for it!"

"Calm down," he guided me by the shoulder out of the range, "It strains the vocal chords but it discourages cowards and disorients opponents."

"That sounds like the Dark Side's methods of mind control. You're saying that's all right, too?"

My Knight's bland tone acquired an edge.

"Don't be naïve, padawan. There are times when one is hemmed in on all sides, deep within enemy territory or hopelessly outnumbered. In such times, all the lightsaber flourishing in the galaxy won't save a single Jedi. Force Persuasion, however, influences the mind. Once the mind is tamed, the weapon is as well."

His wisdom silenced me as we walked the cool stone halls of the serene Temple. I _was_ learning a 'weaker' lightsaber form, and we _were_ Consulars; supposed masters of the Force.

"I will learn to scream as you do?"

His easy laugh returned.

"You're too young to lose your voice. Learn to dominate the mind. Train your Niman style to perfection and advance to Jar'Kai."

"The dual lightsaber technique?"

"Niman is a stepping stone to mastery of it, yes."

"Why even bother with Niman? What you said and what I read of it are unflattering."

"Still you fail to see past the imminent," he shook his head as we took center stage on a training mat, "You must see transcendence in imminence, Stargazer. Nothing, absolutely _nothing_ that you perceive with all your senses is exactly as it appears to be."

I flipped my lightsaber in circles about a single hand, spinning it on the palm before igniting it in Shii-Cho starting stance.

"Do you enjoy showing off, padawan?"

"I admit it lends satisfaction to one's training."

"Very well then. I will now demonstrate the most powerful lightsaber form of them all."

I automatically adopted the Soresu feint and he laughed.

"Fear not for your life. Observe!"

He dropped both arms to his side and stood still. I relaxed my stance.

"Well?"

"This is it, Stargazer: _Form Zero._ A lightsaber that is _not_ ignited."

I chuckled condescendingly.

"Not even a Master can defend against a lightsaber _and_ another Force user."

My Knight stood at ease and lifted his chin.

"Come."

Taking one precaution, I lowered the blade power. It wouldn't cut, but it _would_ sting like the seven hells. I Force Jumped him, slamming the green beam into the floor where he once stood. He kicked my shoulder and I rolled into Niman stance. As it combined the previous forms to some degree, I used Makashi fencing. He shifted left and right to avoid the darts, rolling aside when I slashed wide. I attempted an Ataru leap, lightsaber swinging at his head, but a quick _jung_ swept him out of the way. His footwork was extraordinary. When had my quiet, unassuming Knight learnt to dance? I regressed to simpler Shii-Cho, attacking the arms and legs. When I lunged too deep he grabbed my lower sword arm, yanked me forward so that the saber passed harmlessly underarm, and struck me full in the chest with his open palm.

Lightning had struck. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, I couldn't hear. Even my motor functions were awkward as my rear end found the floor.

"By the Force, padawan, I thought you were made of sterner stuff."

"Uh guh bluh?" I was drunk, breathing as a fish might in loud gulps. My head cleared and I was aware of an acute burning sensation in my chest.

"Did the Ithorians…?"

"No, that was _my_ Master. I was unconscious for half an hour after she did that, but my arms aren't as strong."

He handed me my lightsaber that I had forgotten during my near-death experience.

"Form Zero," I hummed, "The empty hand."

"Never empty," my Knight corrected, "Remember what is with you."

"_You better recognize."_

"Oh hush."

888

During weeklong archive study sessions and between meditations, Niman and Form Zero were my constant friends. I bloomed and blossomed in the Force, because I couldn't get the thing out of my head anyway, and my body acquired a pleasing V-shape. But I _still_ couldn't defeat my Knight's Form Zero.

"Now do you appreciate Niman?" he asked after releasing me from a headlock with both my arms pinned against my neck.

"Yes. Its moderate strength and multi-form discipline improved my overall performance instead of focusing exclusively on a single pattern."

"Correct. It is a utilitarian form that works well with widely-traveled Consulars who must be prepared for anything."

"You make it sound like we're better than Guardians."

"We are only superior in adeptness of Force. A Guardian padawan at your age could floor me in hand-to-hand combat."

"Which reminds me. Why do you call it 'Form' Zero when you don't use your lightsaber?"

"Form Zero _never_ uses a lightsaber. It is the basic ideal of a Jedi – nonviolence."

"Yet you tumble me around."

"But of course. How else would you learn to rely on the Force and not some crude weapon?"

"I say it is the stepping stone to Tràkata."

He nodded.

"You are sharp. When Form Zero fails, the Jedi switches form, or uses the insidious Tràkata to mislead the opponent."

"Aha! I have found you out. Hypocrite."

He arched an eyebrow.

"Heed my words, padawan. A lightsaber is nothing more than an implement of destruction. Even worse, this galaxy has never known lasting peace. Kindness, compassion, and tolerance… these are the ideals Form Zero promotes. Someone who sees no weapon tends to be more receptive to peaceful persuasion. In time you will discover that people are _tired_ of all the fighting and want someone different, something gentler, easier than killing. However…"

He ignited his fatal instrument.

"If this is all you know, padawan, then I will use it to train you."

A door opened in my mind. I switched off my lightsaber, hung it by my belt and stilled my body. My Knight flew at me in a fluid deadly movement, but I saw there was _more_ than the Jedi and the blade. I saw transcendence in imminence.

I saw with the Force.

"_Form Zero!"_

Diving upward, between his arms, slipping past the wrist that reflexively turned to block me, my palm came upward into his jaw. He sailed onto the mat, landing on his feet. We bowed to each other across the room.

"You are ready for the Trials."


	3. Trials

A semicircle of Council elders bent their minds upon me. I felt them probing, prying, questioning, searching.

"He is too young for the Trials."

"He is irreverent of our customs."

"However, he has learnt respect since the first time we saw him."

"Moreover, though he _is_ young, the Force is with him."

"Edethrian, are you certain, despite his age and immaturity?"

_Edethrian?_ That was my Knight's name?

"With the Council as my witness, I am certain."

"Then it shall be done. Escort him to the summit."

Leaving them, I glanced sidelong at my Knight.

"Edith."

He stopped short, his face colouring.

"_Edethrian,_ please, I have received enough taunts for my name. As you are my padawan, call me Ed for short."

"Ed, then."

"I never told you my name?"

"No."

"Our bond is more familiar than I thought."

"What is at the summit, Ed?"

"Patience, Joe."

888

My name is Joe-Bero Stargazer. According to the Jedi Council, I am a Gray Jedi, and the divide began upon the Temple's summit. In those days long gone, the summit was a space dock, flat and wide, as the Temple was square. The ship waiting for me was an A-Wing with carbon scoring across its hull and engine ports.

"Do you know of Dark Jedi?"

I affirmed, "Exiled Fallen Jedi, forsaking the Light Side, who fled after the Hundred Year Darkness that ended with the Battle of Corbos, approximately one thousand seven hundred and ninety years ago."

"Your trial is to negotiate with a Dark Jedi whose whereabouts on Dantooine are known."

"Did previous negotiations do that to the ship?"

"Yes. Do not return like it."

Mine was a trial indeed. Consulars are ambassadors. When an enemy appears, we go to unknown territory first, to feel out the situation and identify Force potential in the flora, fauna and people. Sentinels come afterward, assessing strengths and weaknesses. Guardians arrive last, to enforce the law and protect. This was a Consular's trial. My role was talk, not battle.

"What is known of this Dark Jedi?"

"He was my padawan before he… turned."

Sympathy flowed between us.

"I will do my best, Ed."

He smiled at me, a sad smile.

"Though he failed the Trials, do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side."

888

I paid little attention to Dantooine but worried about Bobris Sedler, the apostate. Would he share Ed's stern but shrewd attitude, or was he a stereotypical heartless? What had caused him to turn? Ed hadn't offered explanations, and perhaps that was part of the trial. My perception, judgment and persuasion skills would be tested, for mine was the task of convincing Bobris to return to the Council for judgment! His presence on Dantooine was disruptive and besmirched Jedi reputation. A Guardian could easily arrest the man, but that would not change Sedler's ways. It was preferable that he submitted willingly; the means must justify the ends, and this was the essence of my trial.

Given an address, I sought him out among the dregs of Dantooine society, from tavern to whorehouse to garbage recycling facility.

"Joe-Bero Stargazer," Sedler greeted me coolly across the yard that stank of discarded kolto tanks, "My replacement. Here to erase the evidence, I assume?"

"Bobris Sedler," I replied evenly, keeping my nerves under control, "why did you leave?"

He passed through a flickering lamppost beam, the pallor of his skin and jaundiced eyes creeping with Dark Side affliction. He had deserted five years ago.

"The Jedi lie, they tell lies, all lies. Peace… hah! Look around you, Joe-Bero, where is peace when power, prestige and position are stripped away? Savagery remains. Basic instinct overwhelms. I tell you, there are more animals than civilized beings living in these crumbling buildings."

"The Jedi seek to uphold the best of galactic civilization."

"And let the diseased ones rot!" he ranted, grubby clothes marking him as one, "Let the _worst_ of civilization bend and scrape in their shadow! Let us be forgotten forever!"

"Hope is not lost for you. The Council requires your presence to conduct your trial."

His gibbering laugh echoed off the mountains of waste.

"Return to high society, yes! Walk their hallways paved with durasteel and dress in their expensive robes. What is it like, Joe-Bero, to be one of them? Do you feel _better_ than everyone else, hmm? Is it nice to have a lightsaber and kill people who are beneath you?"

"I have never taken life. The Jedi are regulators, not rulers. We serve the Republic and its citizens."

"Oh, yes, _until_ they oppose your ways of thinking. Then you manipulate the weak minds of your so-called Republic into doing what you want."

"At times, it is necessary for peace."

"Peace?" he hissed, advancing on me, "What good is peace without freedom? _I _have freedom, from all things!" he laughed, twirling arms outstretched to encompass the ruin and decay.

"What good is freedom without responsibility? You are not happy here, Sedler. Surrender to the Council and you will be given a new life, most likely as a spy as you have formed connections here."

Bobris leaned against the lamppost, picking at his fingernails.

"To become their dog again? I think not. I'd rather live as one than serve their hubris."

"As you wish. I shall report your decision to the Council."

As I turned, an invisible hand encircled my throat.

"I lost my lightsaber to the Sentinel that found me. Give me yours."

That annoying spectre at the back of my mind stepped forward and broke his hold. I cast a glare at Bobris Sedler.

"You oppose a _Consular_ with Force?"

The Dark Side shimmered in his eyes.

"Why not? I was one myself."

Thrusting his hand outward a Force Wave blasted rubbish in my face. Head over heels in the muck, scrubbing filth from my eyes, I shouted inwardly, _"I need you!"_

"_I am here."_

The spectre became my ally. Those sinister hands snaked around my neck and squeezed my lungs – I cleared my mind with Battle Meditation and struck back, slamming Sedler into the post so hard that its lamp shattered. I reached for my lightsaber when Ed's words echoed, _"A lightsaber is nothing more than an implement of destruction" _– that was not the purpose of my trial.

"A lightsaber _not_ ignited," I muttered, keeping a sharp eye on Sedler as he stood.

"You astonish me, Joe-Bero! Did Edith teach you that?"

"His name is Edethrian, and you are a fool."

"On what grounds do you fling your accusation?"

"For insulting the Jedi Order, for worshiping the Dark Side, but most of all, for wallowing in your own self-indulgence. Look at you! A kath hound would turn up its nose at your presence!"

"Brave words for one about to die," he flung slag and broken kolto tanks at me. Sweeping them aside, I bent the metal post around him, pinning his arms.

"Release me! I am no-one's prisoner!"

I dusted off my robes.

"Hope is wasted on the hopeless. Enjoy your freedom, Sedler!"

"I will not be caged, cribbed and confined by a youngling!"

The hills of refuse on either side of us began to shake. I saw the concentration bulging from his eyes and throbbing in his veins.

"Stop!"

"Never! I am my own man!"

As the walls of garbage thundered to meet us, I learnt to fly. Shot high into the air, I heard his fanatic screams as the junk crushed him. Landing on a crane, I checked my ally.

"What was that? I can't jump that high!"

"_You think gravity limits _me_?"_

"Oh. How do I get down from here?"

"_That's your problem."_

I crawled down the hundred-foot extension to the ground. My mission was a failure.

888

Head bent by disappointment, I gave my report to the council.

"He attempted to destroy us both, but I escaped. I could not save him, much less redeem him."

They conferred quietly among themselves before addressing me.

"The death of Bobris Sedler, a padawan with much potential, is a loss to the Jedi Order. You are dismissed."

Crestfallen, I bowed out. Had they dismissed me from the Temple, as well? Where was my Knight? The hallways seemed hostile and empty as my footsteps echoed off their ancient walls. Not knowing where else to go, I went to the library, my most frequent haunt. Perhaps I would find some comfort in my studies until the Council deemed me worthy of another Trial. Passing through the ornate double doors, I called, "Librarian?"

Why was the place so dark? As I walked forward, reaching for my belt light, lightsabers seared to life, hemming me in on both sides, their glow showing the dark robes of their hooded wielders. Startled, I fell back, reaching for my own, when I recognized the smiling face of my Knight among them.

"Ed?"

"Come forward and kneel, padawan," said a Council elder at the head of them all, her own lightsaber bared. Obeying, my eyes asked the question.

"You were observed during your trial, of course: a Jedi is never alone. By upholding the Jedi Code despite Sedler's ravings, by withholding your blade even when attacked, and by displaying a thorough knowledge of the Force, I dub thee Jedi Knight of the Republic."

She sliced off my padawan braid, passing the saber over my shoulders in benediction.

888

"A fine way of scaring me to death _twice_. Were you also inducted in that manner?"

"No, they sent me a memo."

Ed and I laughed as we watched the sun set over Coruscant, on the edge of the Temple's summit.

"Ever been to the entertainment district, Joe?"

"Several times, Ed, but I had a falling out with a Twi'lek and her bodyguards."

"We're a monastic Order, don't forget that. Although passion ravages us, we are to remain at peace."

"Have you ever loved, Ed?"

Now that _we_ were Knights, I felt more at ease asking personal questions.

"I did, but he has more faith in the Order than in me."

I began to sputter and turn red, but his knowing gaze scrutinized me.

"Don't be naïve, Jedi Knight. There is more to life than what the Order and the Republic deem normal."

"I never expected… I mean, I don't think less of you, Ed…"

His eyes were lost in mists of memory.

"He was the only one I allowed to call me Edith. His way with words, the way his voice lowered ever so subtly whenever he talked to me made me feel special, made me feel good about myself for the first time in my life. It was so easy to lose ourselves in Coruscant – Jedi rarely walk the streets, so we were a couple of nobodies once we dressed like everyone else. Ah, to be young again…"

"What happened?"

Those mists clouded his eyes.

"He said that I inspired more passion than he could control. It affected his duties as Knight. He said that there could be no peace if I remained with him. So he left, to serve the Republic in another quadrant."

Were those tears welling in my Knight's eyes?

"I have not seen or heard from him since. It is even easier to lose yourself in the galaxy…"

I touched his arm, not knowing how to comfort my superior. His inner tension eased, but he had to go on, a man in his confessional.

"I became ruthless in my pursuit of perfection after that. Where else could I turn, except to the Jedi Order? I became the epitome of a Jedi Knight… the Council delighted to honour me… and Bobris hated me for it. I was more of a slave driver than instructor to him. I was so blind to his youth and only saw a padawan that needed to be hammered into a proper Jedi."

He finally looked at me. His history of desperation and sadness lay bare therein.

"That is why I said those blasphemous things to you, Joe – _there are other ways to live. _Just because you are a Jedi does not mean you are under a lifelong contract. The Jedi Order is _a_ way of life, not _the_ way. You are free to leave, once your surrender your lightsaber, of course."

We were silent for several minutes, thoughts running through our heads of past, present and future. I was the first to break our contemplation.

"Will you seek your own path, now that I am a Knight?"

"Though I argued to the contrary, I am bound to the Jedi Order. I know of no other way to live. I am… frightened of what might happen to me should I live outside its ethics."

"You would search for him."

"Forever. Until the stars no longer shine, until the Force takes me."

He rubbed his eyes as if to dismiss the powerful emotions resurfacing within.

"But my future is with the Council. Now that I have finally succeeded in training a padawan to Knight status, I will be conferred the title of Master."

"Jedi Master Edith."

We halted at my quip, and then overflowed with laughter.

"Your freedom from convention is charming. It will carry you far, whatever you choose to do."

I stood, teetering over the kilometers-deep drop to Coruscant's surface. The wind was sighing past us, carrying undulations of life from the planet-city.

"I am good at what I do. The Force speaks to me nearly as plainly as you do now. I was meant for this life, Ed. When I stray to the Dark Side, it rebukes me. When I accept its presence and do what is right, I am rewarded with an even closer connection."

"I do not dispute your claims, but you sound like a puppet."

"I _felt_ that way, but when I began to work… especially during my Trial… we achieved much."

"It has supported you, though I am curious, what does it say of me?"

I listened, and frowned.

"Curious."

"Hmm?"

"It said, the man with viridian eyes sighs at the moons."

Silence. When I turned to look, Ed had sunk to his knees. There was wildness in his eyes, as though recovering from a blow.

"He… _he_ has those eyes… and a poem he wrote me said… he mourns under the light of lonely moons."

I paused, and fully appreciated the _cosmic_ scale of my intangible ally.


	4. Gray

Jar'Kai mastery was my principal goal for a year hence. I understood the role of Niman in training towards it: by incorporating the five other forms into dual lightsaber combat, I could _blend_ forms, creating attack and defense combinations that would bewilder an opponent trained solely in one form. Jar'Kai stressed _adaptation_, for with two sabers came greater responsibility for their use. One could easily wound or dismember oneself during intense conflict, unless one possessed self-restraint, so that one battled _with_ the lightsabers, not _against_ them. Using principles from the other forms also gave insight into their weaknesses and strengths. The only forms I did not know much of were the aggressive Juyo; the rough-and-tumble Sokan; the defensive Shien; and the forbidden killer Tràkata. Other unconventional lightsaber techniques were used throughout the galaxy, usually for non-humanoid Jedi, but discipline in a known form was a more concrete foundation. I would be satisfied with Jar'Kai, for the other forms did not appeal to me. Tràkata, however, was the violent extension of Form Zero, and due to my knowledge of the Force, I could grasp its finer points of precision and control. That would come with time and, of course, bitter experience.

888

Ten more or less peaceful years passed. Though in my late twenties, I took no padawan. The Council respected my position, and I continued to study, meditate and practice Jar'Kai. Ed took his third padawan, a bright if not distracted girl fresh out of the younglings. They got along like sisters, and I didn't bother them, busy in my own introspective world, communing with the Force. Then, one night, it spoke plainly to me, while I gazed at the stars.

"_You must go to Korriban."_

"There is no such planet."

"_You are oblivious to the cycle of destruction that shall originate there. Go."_

"Guide me."

"_Always."_

888

I informed the Council that I was leaving "to scout for Sith activity on the Outer Rim territories". They were accustomed to vagaries – Jedi are mysterious that way. I rented an unmarked hyperspace cruiser, sent the bill to the Council, and shot far, far away from known galactic civilization, the Force guiding my ship more than its navigation computer. I, as they say, sat back and went for the ride, juggling my twin lightsabers.

"Why am I going there?"

"_To warn the Sith Lord what his reign will herald."_

I sat up very straight.

"Sith _Lord?_ Why me?"

"_There must be balance. There must be choice."_

"But it's a _Sith Lord!_ They have a nasty reputation for blowing up planets they don't like, much less a measly Consular!"

In the vastness of stark subzero space, a warmth settled on my heart.

"_I am with you. There is _nothing _to fear."_

The stars receded to pinpricks of light. Below us was a planet whose dark energies seemed to permeate the hull of my ship, coiling around my mind.

"Unmarked ship. Identify yourself."

With my ally I reached down to that horrid planet, finding the spaceport where a half-breed lieutenant was operating the transceiver.

"_I am a cargo ship cleared to dock."_

"Cargo ship, you are cleared to dock."

I descended to the Sith planet. Interbreeding with Dark Jedi, they fancied themselves a chosen race, and their Fallen masters, gods. No notice was taken of me as I climbed the wide stairs to their Lord's towering citadel, a grandiose structure as dark and twisted as the presence I sensed inside. At the doors I disposed of the guards with a Stasis Field that left the lot of them sleeping on the job. Unchallenged, I caused the inner sanctum to open, revealing a hall and throne befitting a god. Insect-like acolytes whispered amongst themselves in their debased Sithese as I strode forward to meet the antagonist of the Jedi Order.

"Marka Ragnos."

His name and likeness were etched on the citadel walls; the symbols carved by lightsaber of the Fallen Jedi whose languages I could translate.

"**Who are you?"**

He stood from his throne. Clad in wicked battle armour, dragon wings soaring from his great helmet, the Sith Lord's fearsome stature inspired awe. The hall of Sith fell to their faces. I understood Ragnos through the Force rather than his alien words.

"I am Stargazer of the Jedi Order. I bring a warning to you."

"**None may threaten me!" **he roared, **"I am king and god of this world!"**

"You fear the Republic," I retorted, "Why else would you hide in this wasteland?"  
A searing blue beam crashed at my feet: a lightsaber of malevolent design.

"**Speak further to hasten your death."**

I spoke with the Force guiding me, my words echoing like a prophet of doom.

"Your successors shall bring terrible darkness to all the galaxy. However, this planet and all Sith will be destroyed, becoming a grave for those who would offend the Light. Before this comes to pass, cease your rule, Ragnos. Disband the Dark Jedi so that evil will be abated!"

"**You ask the impossible. I have been leader longer than you have lived."**

"The Dark Side will cover civilization in a gloom lasting millennia!" I argued, "This doom will outlast both of us, to the ends of time, unless you end it _now!"_

"**I will not listen to Jedi propaganda. The reign of the Sith shall be forever!"**

The Sith behind us began chanting in accordance with their god.

"**We will hold the galaxy in our grip. We will crush the Republic and the Jedi with our passion. We will scatter our enemies to chaos."**

Faced with such fanaticism, what more could I do?

"Your lack of vision diseases the cosmos."

Ragnos pointed his dread saber at me.

"**You, too, will disappear."**

Then the Force overtook me. My body and my voice were not my own – my hand flung forward, slamming his massive bulk to the throne with unseen authority, my voice thundering to quake the walls.

"_You will NEVER understand the truth of the Force. You will ALWAYS live in fear. Slaying innocents and each other, the Sith will FOREVER_ _be a plague unto themselves."_

The Force cast Ragnos from his throne to fall prostrate upon his face with a mighty crash. His Sith cowered in terror as the Force condemned them all.

"_The very galaxy you hope to conquer shall reject your kind!"_

The Force released us, and I staggered back. Without another word I retreated from the hall. I heard, as I fled, Ragnos scream his defiance to the Force that was simultaneously his strength and his judge.

888

That year saw the beginning and end of the Great Hyperspace War. Seizing control upon Ragnos' demise, Naga Sadow led the Sith Empire against the Republic. I was at the Battle of Coruscant with Edethrian, our combined Battle Meditation singing through us and our allies. I saw my Knight in battle for the first time, a veritable whirlwind of lightsaber and Force techniques true to his Master rank. At one time they conspired to overpower him by strength of numbers… he unleashed such a Force Scream that I heard their ears pop as their spirits shattered. Though we fought with valiance, Memit Nadill, Anavus Svag, Sonam-Ha'ar, and Tuknatan were the heroes who led to ultimate victory over the invasion. Ed and I were content to contribute. We met in the room of a Thousand Fountains after the battle was won.

"The Sith have finally revealed themselves."

"Korriban will become as the Force prophesied."

I divulged my journey, which seemed incredible to us both.

"You are truly a Consular to bridge the gap between the Force's purpose and our mortal ways."

"I believe that, even as I do what the Light Side bids, Ragnos was doing as the Dark Side bid. He would not listen to reason, obeying only the passion and black magic of the darkness that infects Korriban. It is like a dejarik board, Ed, with the Jedi on one side and the Sith on the other, moved around by the two personalities of the Force."

"So the Force has schizophrenia, now?"

"It is possible that mortal passions affect the living Force to such an extent that a _divide_ was formed eons ago, with one side of the Force feeding off mortal passion and the other side, the _true_ Force, guiding us to enlightenment."

"I have never thought of the Force thus. You are wise beyond _my_ years."

I tapped my head.

"Blame my tenant."

"Are you the unwilling landlord?"

"Fight against a cosmic power? I gave up _that_ notion years ago."

Ed patted my head fondly.

"Remember that you, too, exist. All are vessels of the Force, which cannot – or merely has not – taken physical form. Until such a messiah appears, you have worth to this galaxy."

He took water and caused it to orbit in clear spheres over his palm.

"Know that there are other worlds than this, Joe; other places to go, species to meet and allies to find. The more you relate to others, the stronger shall be the bonds of the Force."

He sat back and looked at me with something akin to wonder.

"When you have accomplished that, you shall work marvels."

888

I shared no sentiments with the Jedi Order. Ed and I were its only members who thought in broad terms. Hearing their victory speeches after the War was a painful experience.

"Propaganda galore," I grumbled to myself, "Saying they want peace and democracy when they dangle the Republic by strings. Nothing is done anywhere that they do not control to some extent. It seems Ragnos was more perceptive than I gave him credit for."

Although the Force would have prevented me, I gave no thought to joining the Dark Side. Its Force techniques promoted wanton destruction, and what was the use of that, when carefully placed words with the supreme influence of the Force could make an enemy your ally? I wasn't comfortable with fighting everyone I had a disagreement with, and so that led me to the Council chamber when I had had enough of the Jedi way of life.

"What brings you here, Consular Stargazer?"

"I resign from the Jedi Order. Your quest for greater power will always draw the Sith, whose quest is for absolute power, which is impossible as long as this Order exists. Your warring will destroy the Republic and cause chaos among its citizens. I do not wish to be a part of this spiral of destruction."

"Please reconsider. The War has left us shorthanded and weakened the Republic's resolve."

"Good. Perhaps you will unlearn the lust for power that you share with the Sith, only to a lesser degree."

A Council member became irate at my lecture.

"How can anything be done without power, Stargazer?"

I gazed directly at him without a shred of doubt.

"All things are done with choice. Until you realize that the Force is about life and the difficult choices involved with it, your training will always be incomplete in this sterile, controlled laboratory you call a Temple."

I surrendered both my lightsabers on the Council floor, and departed.


	5. Blue

Hither, thither and yon I roamed, hitchhiking the galaxy until I found an Echani colony on forested Myrkr. They kept to themselves, so the Neti cheerfully ignored them. Leaving behind my previous life, I joined them with nothing but the clothes on my back and, naturally, the Force; the one ally I could never abandon. By observing the lizard-like ysalamiri and surviving Force-hunting vornskrs, the Echani had learnt the uncommon discipline of setting up mental blocks in their minds. No amount of mind reading, tricks or persuasion worked on them, and believe me, I tried. They would only accept me if I could defeat one of their handmaidens in unarmed combat. Her name was Jen. Forbidden to use the Force, I was knocked around a good few times, nearly losing consciousness from her uppercuts and roundhouse kicks, before I pinned her for above ten seconds. Bleeding from my nose and ears, I was unceremoniously accepted as an Echani, and shortly thereafter blacked out.

888

I awoke, expecting the stench of Kolto fluid but instead found pungent herbs tied around my swollen head.

"Rest a while. I bruised you much."

"Jedi are known for their toughness," I boasted, then attempted to sit up only to be floored by a mass driver pounding the inside of my skull.

"Rest, recover. You have earned it."

"Jen, is it?"

She hovered over me.

"Your eyes are violet. Is that normal for humans?"

"Are you not human?"

"I am Echani. We rarely change, and when an abnormality is found, it is met with suspicion."

"There's no need for anxiety. I am but a Gray Jedi, without weapon or allegiance."

"But you came here. Why?"

I found solace in her soft coal eyes.

"I must prepare myself in order to obtain _another_ lightsaber."

888

For ten years I was content with handling Echani mêlée weapons. I grew accustomed to their weight balance (a Jedi's true weapon is called _light_saber for more than its flashiness) and trained with Echani masters while their colony grew. I adopted their light, soundless tread, so much so that I developed the Force Camouflage skill – to walk unseen, hidden by the shadows of the Force. I learnt their etiquette and traditions during daily life, heard their history around the campfire and easily slipped into their native tongue when they spoke it. I expected to grow older, but my physical features halted between thirty and forty years.

Jen grew with me; honing her skills until none others equaled ours. In the valleys, deep within forests we sparred. Climbing became our pastime, conditioning our minds and bodies until our muscles and willpower resonated with the unyielding heights. We gazed often at each other, especially after a duel, noticing everything from the sheen of sweat to the way our barely clad chests heaved (it is Echani tradition to duel with as little clothing as possible – no doubt it was how Jen's ancestors came to know each other so well). Without saying anything, we were content with each other's company. As the years passed, her eyes shifted colour from midnight pools to my violet, except hers was clearer and not dark as mine. She realized she, too, had stopped aging beyond the thirty or forty years we shared. One crisp morning while we greeted the rising sun, the mystery had to be solved.

"I cannot ignore these changes under your influence. Why am I becoming like you, Joe?"

"It is the Force, Jen, bringing us close together in spirit and likeness."

"What is this Force you have used often, spoken of, but I know not?"

"Do you wish to hear it?"

"I will listen."

From our vantage point on the cliff, the Echani settlement lay below. I stood behind her to allow her full view – and also because I enjoyed the scent of her hair – and guided her first steps, whispering into her attentive ears as the Force whispered to mine.

"Release the mental barriers. There are no vornskyrs here. You are safe."

The blocks came down, but slowly, for it was a lifetime discipline. Her mind was as intricate as her personality – many-layered, perpetually active, always questioning and searching. For one above her peers, her inherent desire for greater power was subdued due to her strict upbringing. She would make an excellent receptacle for the Force.

"Close your eyes and feel your heartbeat, for you must know yourself before you can know others."

Jen already possessed two of the pillars – wisdom and strength. To know self is the beginning of knowledge.

"Quiet, now. All is silent. Inside, there is your pulse. Reach _outward._ Seek what you already feel – the ground underfoot, the threshing of wind. Now the ground pulses with you, the wind hums with your breathing. It is all alive. It is all _one._ You are part of it. Through them, feel your life anew."

"I… hear… something…"

Her voice was hushed, so as not to interrupt the beginnings of The Sound:

"_I…_

_I am…_

_I am here…_

_I am _here_…_

_I am life…_

_Eternal life…"_

No sweeter symphony is there than the Force, whose most tenuous notes hymn the everlasting.

"Awaken, Jen."

Her eyes, my eyes, opened to the village below. She drew breath, and with that inward rush came knowledge.

"I feel them... moving, there below. My sisters, returning from the well… my mother, preparing a meal…!"

She gave a sobbing gasp of pristine wonderment.

"I do not see, yet they are _there."_

I rested my hands upon her shoulders, speaking to her as the Force spoke now.

"Blessed are you, Jen. The Force has found you, and it shall follow you… _I am with you always, even until the end of time."_

888

I spent ten more years training my 'padawan', and I confess to have learnt more from her than she learnt from me. She belonged to her family and understood life and love more intuitively than I; concordantly, the Force flowed strongly through her, but not stronger than it does through me. As I said in the beginning, I am special, but Jen is special to me, and therein is the difference between her, the Jedi and even Edethrian whom I miss. They were my peers and instructors, but she was… and still is… my mate. Our journey to greater heights of strength, knowledge and wisdom brought us closer and closer together until nothing separated us. I remember an incident when, venturing further than usual, we were both struck blind to the Force. I maintained my calm, but Jen broke into passionate tears.

"I do not want to lose you… ever again… I was separated from you for so long…"

"But I am here."

"Lost, lost! To lose you is not life, it is death…"

Then I realized. When ysalamiri are in groups, they form "bubbles" where the Force cannot exist. This protects them from vornskyrs, who hunt exclusively using the Force. We must have been in a ysalamiri bubble, so I led her by hand back the way we came. When the Force flow returned to us, she collapsed, sighing tremendous relief, clutching the living grass.

"Oh never, never again may we be separated!"

I accused my inward portion, "You're taking my wife away from me."

My dubious ally smirked, _"She was never yours."_

888

Echani elders and her family consented to our union. Kissing her sisters, mother and father goodbye, Jen and I hitched a ride to Corellia, the place of my birth. There I sought out the Stargazer family. I was and am a Gray Jedi who is outside of the Order, so their rigid rules forbidding "emotional attachment" did not apply to me. I learnt my father had passed away, but my mother lived. She was over sixty years old. I had new brothers and a sister. They, too, were Force adepts, but were quietly employed by the Order as assistant librarians or diplomats after no Knight took them as padawans. I arranged a meeting, sat them down and explained my reasons for leaving the Order. My siblings were shocked that the Echani woman was my wife, but my mother was overjoyed. They all remarked on how young I looked for a person in his forties, and how beautiful Jen was – not that her beauty has diminished even slightly over the years! Astonishment rose when they noticed she had my inhuman violet eyes. I wrote it off to our connection with the Force, which binds all life together.

"Your marriage has completed my motherhood. I shall leave this mortal coil with gladness, and watch over you from the Force."

It was another similarity that Jen and I shared – both our mothers felt the touch of the Force.

888

From Corellia we traversed the void to Coruscant. I met my Knight in a bar, far from prying Jedi eyes. His hair had become white, yet his eyes gleamed ever bright.

"May your days together be plentiful," (and they _were!_) "I am glad you found your path."

"Take care, old friend," (for he was older than my mother) "The road goes on and on."

"I am not worried," he chuckled, "I have raised two Knights. She became a Sentinel, stationed on Dantooine. She is the last I raised. I will live out my days in the Library until the Force takes me."

"About that... will you follow me?"

Edethrian, Master Consular, nodded.

"After all this time, it is fitting that _you_ lead the way."

888

I often questioned the purpose of the Force, but this was one of its more rewarding plans. We entered the Temple, causing a sensation that the "Renegade Jedi" had returned after two decades with "some Echani princess" in hand. Disciplined they may be, but Jedi are hopeless gossipers simply because they live too sheltered a life. Word spread quickly to the Council that held an impromptu meeting just for us, most of the Council members present in hologram.

"What brings you here, Stargazer?"

"Behold, Council. Not idly did I accuse your Order of being misdirected in its teachings against emotional attachment. Behold, one of your own Masters. Do you know of his past relationship?"

"This we know, but he atoned for it."

I released one bark of a derisive laugh.

"Atonement for love? You preach arrogance, when he was living in humility."

"We do not perceive the purpose of your tirade."

"Yes, purpose," I paced while Ed and Jen looked on, "The Force is our purpose, is it not? But have you ever asked, what is the purpose of the Force? Now you shall see firsthand: purpose!"

On cue, a man all shimmering blue appeared before us. His viridian eyes gazed at my Knight, who lifted a hand in yearning.

"What trickery is this?" the Council demanded.

"Trickery? This is the sublime Truth of the Force: that love, like life, once conceived, is never parted forever."

"_Edith. I am truly home."_

My Knight took one step, then another. In those deceptively meek movements, I could _feel_ his lifetime of training melt away from his heart, mind and soul like ice before the inferno.

"Let me be with you."

The man with viridian eyes held out his hand to touch my Knight's.

"_You are."_

My Knight did not die. He _became_ one with the Force, taking on its gentle blue hue of immortality as soft and silent as the wind passing by. The Council had shock written all over their faces, flesh and hologram alike. No-one had ever witnessed transubstantiation before. Jen and I held hands, watching the men embrace forever. Now that their happiness was complete, my parting words to the Council were stern.

"Know this. The Force lives in all life. To deny your life is to deny yourself. To deny yourself is to deny your feelings. To deny your feelings is to deny your purpose. To deny your purpose is to deny the Force."

They attempted to argue.

"But to settle the chaos of this galaxy, there are those who must deny their feelings for the greater good!"

"Have you had any luck in that venture _at all_? Were the Great Schisms and the Great Hyperspace War, in fact, _victories? _Heroes died on both sides, and where are we now? _The galaxy is not at peace!_ How can the galaxy know peace when you, its leaders, _claim_ to know peace, yet deny who you are?"

They opened their mouths to say something but shut them for lack of wisdom. Jen and I turned away as my Knight and his Knight drifted away… only until _my_ purpose was fulfilled would I go to the place they had gone.


	6. Red

Though we disagreed with the Council, we would help the Republic. Granted such longevity, what else were we to do? As unofficial Jedi, we could not depend on Jedi sources, so we hunted Sith. Transportation fees were no problem – we offered our services as bodyguards on each ship we boarded, and had opportunities to prove our martial arts prowess on numerous craft. Fallen Jedi are found in their hidden places, lurking on the fringes of the galaxy. We were not brave or foolish enough to venture near Korriban, so our first encounter was in the capital of Onderon: Iziz, where a group of Sith had organized themselves to invade the city. We knew of it before the Republic did, simply because we were within the high stone walls when the attack happened. To this day, Sith gather where Jedi do – and vice versa. It was not mere chance that we had chosen Iziz. Nothing is _ever_ left to chance.

Over the sound of blaster fire and panicked, fleeing citizens, I rallied her.

"Jen! Stop the assault troopers in the eastern and merchant quarter. I'll take the west!"

"May the Force be with you."

I laughed.

"When is it _not?"_

Summoning the hidden Force to our defense, we charged the ranks. Iziz infantry helped us, of course – no capital is without its army. We thrashed the unprepared Sith with colossal Force Waves, often breaking them against the walls they had broken through. Blaster fire bounced off our exposed backs, and those shots fired at us in front were sent right back where they came from. The Force is truly a powerful ally – our robes were not even singed. Regrouping at the Sky Ramp that led to the imperial palace, we found two Dark Jedi Masters cutting down royalist guards. The infantry raised their blasters.

"No! They'll deflect them right back at you. Let us end this, Jen."

We had the Force tear up the ground all the way to the Sith who, surprised, leapt out of the way and turned their attention to us.

"Jedi without lightsabers? You mock us."

"Your attack has failed. Surrender now, or be cast down."

"Brave words for two who are about to die."

The Sith are _so_ clichéd. Jen curtsied to me.

"Mr. Stargazer?"

I arched an eyebrow and bowed.

"Mrs. Stargazer?"

"I dedicate this dance to you."

I took her proffered hand.

"Shall we?"

Red beams flashed at us. We pirouetted out of the way. Force Storms crackled. We held their fury in our hands, and tossed them aside (energy cannot be destroyed, but it is converted to other forms all the time). At this trick, the Dark Masters paused.

"What are you?"

"Happily married."

"You shall not prevail without your Jedi weapons!"

"Do you place so much faith in little things of light?"

We did not underestimate them. Each employed physical abuse and the taunting _dun möch,_ kicking, punching and jeering when we dodged their fatal sabers. We returned blows in kind, but without their menacing threats or jests, attacking with efficient strength only Echani knew. I suspected that Jen and I shared a Force Bond, to the point that we attacked in similar fashion. We sent both Sith flying with open palm thrusts to the chest, both red sabers twirling through the air until we caught them, somersaulting backward and crossing sabers in a sizzling flash to herald the end of our dance.

"It was a pleasure, Mr. Stargazer."

"The honour is mine, Mrs. Stargazer."

When the Sith recovered, they sucked in breath and Force Screamed. We raised our hands simultaneously. Scream and Wave rippled through the air, meeting in an atmospheric detonation that blew us all back. When the Sith righted themselves, all they saw were shattered flagstones.

"Where are those Jedi?"

Their own lightsabers erupted through their chests, felling them. Jen and I emerged from Force Camouflage.

"That, my dear wife, is your first instruction in Tràkata, the concealed killer."

"You're a devious one, Joe."

In thanks, Iziz royalty gave us credits, white robes and silver focusing crystals, for we were "pure of heart" to defeat the "sinister evil". In hindsight, we did not win in the most honourable fashion, but we took the reward anyway. To this day our lightsabers and attire are white – the whole idea of "gray" Jedi did not appeal to our fashion sense. Now armed, we sought other crystals, lens, emitters and power cells to upgrade our sabers. Being alone with no Republic army to support them tends to drive Jedi to increase their own strengths, and that is what we did for the next millennium.

888

Knowing we knew next to nothing about computer systems or how to repair anything other than our weapons, we sought knowledge among the Zabraks of Iridonia. They were – and are to this day – master technicians, and, being the picky people we are, Jen and I settled for nothing less than the best. We sampled expert academies, learning about binary code and what the difference between a hydrospanner and plasma torch is. Zabraks are a quietly passionate people… they are overall easygoing, but when they conceive an idea, they labour tirelessly to bring it to fruition. We learnt the value of their frankness and candor, understanding that openness disarms those one wishes to manipulate via subtler methods. And we are masterful manipulators: that is how we waived our tuition fees (we never Forced anyone to give us free classes, however, as calm persuasion is far more effective and eventually convinces the person they thought that way all along). After a year, we built our first hovering droid that followed us around, recording notes, relaying messages and playing holovids. Another year found us disabling landmines with the Force. When five years passed, we built a hyperdrive ship using bare components, assembling its navigation computer with spare parts and christening it _Stardust._ Clichéd, but it was Jen's idea, and never in all history has a husband been able to change his wife's mind.

888

Aboard _Stardust_ we chased Sith on the Outer Rim, parading as a freight vessel trafficking illegal weaponry to the Mandalorians (say what you will about their warring clans, they make excellent scapegoats for unlawful endeavours). Our most notable incident was within a purplish nebula offset by twin stars; one blue, one white. We were there to take recordings of that beautiful stellar accident when sensors indicated a battle cruiser without an ID signature code. Mandalorians are proud and broadcast their ship codes as though they are the latest swoop bike holovids, so this lack of ID meant Sith.

"Tractor beam initiated. Preparing to dock with enemy ship," Jen reported with utmost composure, as if _Stardust_ was not several thousand times smaller than their wartime behemoth.

"Docking complete... cargo door is being sliced."

"Let's say hello," I suggested. _Of course_ I felt trepidation – this titan could very well hold an army, even the remnants of war machines they used on Coruscant. Due to the dark energies permeating this vessel, I could not sense definite presences, but perceived them as one views a school of fish swimming in a muddy pool – slippery, shadowy, difficult to predict. Even the lighting of the place was murky, mimicking the Dark Side imprint on their aura. Judging by the stale smell, air scrubbers maintained a minimal atmosphere. If anything lived aboard this death ship, it was less than – or not – human.

"Here they come."

Five of them shifted from darkness to redder light. Judging by their tremor swords, these were masterblades – elite Sith who defeated ten or more lightsaber combatants. While the others surrounded, one of them peered at us, her eyes atrophied.

"Jedi," was the rasping hiss, "Your auras pollute this place."

"I return the compliment."

"Kill them!"

Sarcasm is lost on these death dealers. We threw them with Force Waves, removing their sword hands while they were stunned. Leaving them screeching like stuck mynocks, we advanced to the command deck, neutralizing the guards with Stasis Fields and crushing concealed turrets that tried to shoot our backs. And then things went wrong. Thinking we had found the door to the bridge, I went first while she watched our rear, and the door magnetically sealed between us. Its particle field foiled my lightsaber. I confronted the darkness.

No less than twenty red lightsabers flared.

"**Die alone, separated from your love!"**

I raised my weapon between my eyes, praying quietly, _"Jen, be safe."_

"**Your pretty wife is even now being cut down by our Force Immune masterblades."**

I swept my arm outward, igniting my saber whose white flash revealed their evil faces. Energy akin to electricity washed over my nerves and focused in my eyes.

"In this night, you will learn what is eternal."

Raising my hand, I discovered they, too, were Force Immune, but there are certain techniques against which _there is no defense._

"_FORCE PARALYSIS!"_

This power I created when Vornskyr assailed us not only blinds the target to the Force but renders motor functions inert. It requires extensive knowledge of the Force and biology of the individual's species – two fields I studied well, cross-referenced and combined in this technique. The one who had threatened me seized up, caught by a giant's grip _inside _his body, while I relieved him of his sneering head. I turned and carved another from chin to ribcage. Five beams raced toward my head – I jumped, found the ceiling to be high, rebounded off it and dived into one who fell to pieces. When they renewed the assault, I took hold of the metal flooring and tore it wide open, moving it in waves so that they were scattered and two smashed between. One who leaped farther than the rest earned the honour of being the first to cross blades. With one hand on my hilt, I used my other hand to Force Push my blade, pressing him inexorably to the ground until his own saber burned through his throat. I somersaulted behind one that thought he could stab me in the back, searing his spinal cord from neck to thigh. His death convulsions were particularly grotesque. Three who rushed me ran into a metal wall I bent from the floor. I rolled them up and swung it like a hammer, bashing Sith into the ground, slamming them into walls and mashing them onto the ceiling until two got the bright idea of cutting my hammer – and the Sith trapped inside – apart. Bewildered by my vicious assault, they cried, **"What manner of Jedi are you?"**

"I am Stargazer Joe, and it is the last name you will ever hear."

I raised my hand. Five of the Sith lightsabers that escaped destruction flew to me, igniting in a red pentagon. The six remaining Sith raised their hands against me to summon a ferocious Force Storm that liquefied the metal underfoot, electrifying the entire room, causing their navigation equipment to explode. They could not match their Force with mine – I easily traced their diseased energies, saw that they lacked harmony, and thus broke them. Shocked, they hurried to slay me by the sword, and that is when I let my collection of lightsabers fly. Five of them ended with beams transfixing their chests. The last one gibbered incoherently, showing his true self when faced with the inescapable doom of his allies' lightsabers flourishing around me. He tried to commit suicide, but I snatched his saber from his hands. Blazing like a red sun behind me, the Sith lightsabers followed in a devastating hurricane as I dashed towards the lone Sith. There was instant contact, one scream, and sizzling flesh. He came apart in tiny Sith cubes.

888

Now that the computer terminals were overloaded, I Forced the doors open to find Jen in what can only be described as an orgy of death. Sith were in their component parts all over the room that held a gut-churning stench of cooked meat.

"What happened?"

Her eyes were wide, afraid of what they had done – or what she had done.

"They attacked, about ten of them, so I tried pushing them back, but they were immune, like ysalamiri."

She walked about the room, staring at the carnage as she recounted the horror that revolted her but would do more damage if left unsaid.

"So I fell back to my Echani training, and singled out opponents. The others thought I would be too busy focusing on one, but they were wrong. I had my back turned to most of them, so they did not know how I would attack – a jab to the midriff, a roundhouse kick to the head… but that's when their backup arrived. All of them, I don't remember how many, used Force Lightning."

Then the tears came, dripping down her flushed cheeks.

"I tried to hold it back. I tried to redirect it, but all the energy was coming from them. They were the conductors; it was easier to send it back at them. I tried, Joe! I tried, but I wasn't strong enough! I thought I was going to die. So I sent it back to them. But they weren't as strong as I was. They couldn't handle it, so they…" she looked at the grisly scene. I rested my hands on her shoulders, and she became limp as a puppet whose strings are cut. I carried her, feeling her total exhaustion.

"_Why,"_ I asked my unseen ally, _"Why must there be death to bring about balance?"_

He, she or it was oddly pensive before replying, _"Redemption is sacrifice."_

Unfulfilled by our actions or the Force's motive, we retreated.


	7. Black

I studied lightsabers for the better part of ten years, preferring the efficiency of a single saber as opposed to two or flinging about as many as I could until I hit something. I learnt their dangers, how to tweak their settings from the deadly beam known by all to a harmless laser pointer that could be shone from Onderon's surface and seen on Dxun. Jen became involved, refusing to be a workbench widow.

We fine tuned our Jedi tools to such extremes that we could solder microchips onto a motherboard with them. Upgrades were plentiful; we sold artifacts we 'found' during our regular Sith hunts. With enough credits to buy a planet, we sampled the knowledge and wisdom every known planet had to offer. We had nothing but time, so we made ourselves useful. We forged casings from quadranium and agrinium that could withstand a direct lightsaber hit, extracted the fusion core of a hyperdrive engine so that it could be used as a power cell fixture, and crystallized the solar flares of Hasaq's sun into focusing crystals and lens emitters. Our lightsabers made fast friends with rogue Jedi, but we crafted them so that only those attuned to the Light Side of the Force could use them. Those of the Dark Side would receive a nasty shock and, if they were _really _evil, would be rendered unconscious and our lightsaber would disintegrate of its own accord. We needed no patent simply because nobody could or ever has duplicated our design.

Despite their lifetime warranty and safety features, the Council at the time considered our lightsabers unholy, and banned them. That is why the lightsabers of today are little more than glorified fusion cutters with a shiny hilt, and not the supreme weaponry Jen and I crafted them to be. The Council never understood power in the way we did, subsequently never teach their students how to handle power and that is why they feared the impact our creations would have. We knew that we had no power, and only possessed the Force. Without it, we might as well have spent our lifetimes knitting turtlenecks for the Ithorian herds.

After mastering their design and utility, I explored the riskiest aspect of a lightsaber: moving its focusing crystals out of alignment. The reason a cheap droid is used to activate newly made lightsabers is that if its crystals are not _perfectly_ aligned, it will explode on a grander scale than a thermal detonator. This is why lightsabers are _never_ mass-produced in factories: it requires a Force adept to align the crystals, because there is no mechanical tool in creation that can position a crystal better than the Force. Knowing this, I went ahead and threw crystals out of alignment using all the Sith lightsabers I collected over the years.

Moving a crystal more than a hundred micron away from its centre causes the beam to become violent and erratic, shooting nearly forty five degrees off its intended path, spitting laser energy hundreds of feet to pierce and incinerate anything it hits. I performed this extremely hazardous experiment on Dantooine's plains and often immolated innocent kinrath. Jen stood well behind me and put out fires I made.

My pyrotechnics attracted the audience of beast riders, because I never went within a hundred kilometers of any population centre. They wondered why I was trying to kill myself with the "laser gun" and I informed them that, if I could control the beam, I could cut apart a starship without the use of heavy cannons. They asked me why I would want to do such a thing, so I shrugged and said it was a "scientific venture". Their children clapped and laughed when the beam misfired and dredged a trench five kilometers long, depleting the saber's power cell and melting the casing.

I destroyed over two hundred Sith lightsabers before I perfected the art of controlling the violent beam. It required a great deal of Force to move around the crystals _and _hold the energy in place lest I eradicate all life as far as the eye could see. When I showed Jen how to do it, we carved our initials on the largest overhanging cliff we could find and surrounded them with a heart. As it was also our wedding anniversary, I presented her with a Hurikaine gem pendant. To this day, successive generations of beast riders tell their children about the "crazy Jedi" and show them our initials that can never be erased from that rock face where we sat watching the sunset together.

888

While searching galactic byways, the Force spoke to us.

"_You are ready for my purpose."_

"What is it?" ventured Jen.

"_You will prevent my… other half… from extinguishing life in the galaxy."_

"So you _are_ schizophrenic. I _knew_ it!"

"_It is my nature; therefore it runs through the lifeblood of the galaxy."_

"How did you become two?" Jen queried. I felt a cosmic shrug, and the 'voice' was more of a sigh.

"_When life first burst upon this unsuspecting galaxy, I was born with it. However, death is the counterbalance to life. Within me exists two tendencies – one towards life, the other towards death. These two are in constant conflict. One argues that life is what gives purpose. The other argues that, in this universe, the presence of _nothing_ far outweighs the presence of _something,_ and seeks to eradicate whatever fills the void."_

"The Dark Side is truly an empty path," Jen mused.

"_You need not lecture _me_ on the Dark Side. This galaxy is the dejarik board, and _you,_ Stargazers, are my pawns."_

"I loathe your comparison. I prefer Pazaak."

"_Trust me, mortal man, if _we_ played Pazaak, then this galaxy would be far more chaotic than we could handle."_

"Very well, we shall play your game," said my wife. I opened my mouth to protest but who else but an adamant woman and a deity with a sense of humour would hear my complaint?

"_Go beyond the Outer Rim, Stargazers. There await the other side of the dejarik board… and its player."_

888

As _Stardust_ cruised out of known space, we felt the Force fall away. It was as though we had descended a high mountain and felt the sudden change in air pressure – it pained and disoriented us.

"It is not as it was with the ysalamiri but it grows fainter every parsec we travel."

"Astrogation charts are useless, but we're going _somewhere. _Going to hyperspace…"

The stars stretched into impossibly long lines and we were gone. When we emerged into orbit, it was as though the Force had disappeared altogether. We had read of such things in the Sith libraries of Korriban and Malachor V (that was an academic detour accomplished with stealth and mind tricks). We stood on the threshold of the true Sith Empire.

"Is that a planet below us?"

"It has the shape and size to be one, but I detect no life… By the Force, look at the viewscreen!"

_There were no stars._ We had left them behind. The Republic is the domain of the Jedi, but here, on the edge of eternal darkness, is where the Dark Side broods, contemplating the annihilation of all life.

"_You are… not welcome."_

Those were the first 'words' the other side of the Force spoke to us. We felt plainly the menacing energies suffusing this entire unknown region, how they crawled through the hull, ensnaring us, the only beacons of Light for light years. What were we to do here? The answer came soon enough: fighters with neither mark nor insignia glided from the 'planet' below, emitting no fuel trail and seamlessly camouflaged against the starless void. We only noticed them by the startlingly hollow presence of their pilots who seemed to be guiding their craft by sheer Force. They fired on us immediately. This is why no Republic ship ever returns once it ventures beyond the Outer Rim planets. We realized the Republic has been corralled all this time, unable to expand its territory without facing total destruction. This was a terrible place where only Jedi and Sith could survive, encountering an utterly alien threat that moved only with the Force.

_Stardust_ nimbly avoided the blaster fire. We hadn't spent the past century twiddling our thumbs when it came to piloting. We outran the fighters to the planet's muggy atmosphere, only to be greeted by anti-air guns that fired neither bullet nor beam, but pure Force, incredibly concentrated, that would bypass any deflector shield and rip through our hull – and us. This extreme hazard required all of our concentration to negotiate, performing barrel rolls and sidewinders that nearly turned our internal organs inside out. We landed only after firing on and destroying a Force Cannon, as we coined it, in the immediate vicinity. _Stardust's _quadlasers were perhaps the only light to touch that planet, for you see, _this planet orbited no sun. _It just… floated through space, alone. There was no oxygen to breathe on this planet, either, because no plants could survive here. How had life sprung into being, attaining such Force potency that its arsenal was immaterial?

"The fighters did not follow us. We can use enviro-suits," said my only companion.

"To go where? To do what, and see what? There isn't even starlight!"

Jen touched my hand, calming me.

"We are not blind. We have the Force. It is faint, but we were told it runs through _everything_ in the galaxy."

"But we are outside the galaxy. Nevertheless, meditate with me."

It was not easy. We, gods among men, masters among Jedi, were reduced to frightened children when we confronted the magnitude of our dilemma. The Dark Side enveloped us, even our breathing was tainted with its iniquity. We reached out and touched nothing. There was no hope, only emptiness.

"Jen… I am… afraid."

"Hold me."

I did. There was life within her, innumerable biological processes, 'a galaxy within a galaxy' as I once read. It was a soft, faint thing, the Force, but it lay within her. It whispered through the blood and bones, it pitter pattered along her pulse, it hushed my fear. From each other we drew strength. Despite terror, we had learnt another truth of the Force.

888

The sensors considered the atmosphere to be almost entirely nitrogen gas with trace elements of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

"Life probably did exist here, and then died."

"Or perhaps these Sith are attempting to mimic life."

Wobbling in bulky space suits, we tramped across the sooty ground, kicking up cinders on our way to the remnants of the Force Cannon, the only sign of (hostile) life we'd encountered.

"Or perhaps these Sith are attempting to mimic life."

"Why would they do that, if they're trying to eradicate it?"

"The best vaccine is made with the corresponding poison."

"So learning about life helps them destroy it… now they seem so cold and calculating."

"You expected any less?"

"I don't think they're Sith. Not truly. Sith have a code. But these… people, if you would call them that, have no code, only annihilation."

"That is code enough. Sith seek dominion. So do these."

"…an empty dominion."

"Dominion always is."

We prodded and poked about the twisted metal.

"Is this old grade iron? Nobody uses that anymore."

"They just needed something to direct the Force. They have no technology."

"But those ships we saw?"

"They were hollow shells. There were no energy oscillations."

"By the Force," she murmured. I gave an ironic laugh.

"What Force?"

"**Humans, you are not welcome here."**

In our awkward, heavy space suits, we drew our lightsabers. The gloves had magnetic pads for connecting with a ship's hull, so the sabers stuck fast to them. Our decades of training and what we retained of the Force would compensate for the clumsy suits. However, the 'being' inclined its head. Our sabers retracted their light and deactivated much to our chagrin.  
**"I do not care for your threats."**

It – for we knew not what gender its telepathic voice held – moved. Abandoning caution, we followed. A hole swallowed us, leading to a slope downward.

"Does the ground live?"

"No, it obeys its will."

We were new to these rules, where there were no laws. There was only the Force, and not the one we knew. Beings like our host appeared, but we never used our eyes to perceive them.

"**What are these humans doing here?"**

"**They survived our defenses, they earned the right."**

"**Do they seek to stop us?"**

"**We are not the army."**

"**We are the outpost."**

So _that_ explained it.

"What is this planet?" I communicated via thought, "We were brought here by the Force."

"**As you divined earlier, this is another shell to serve our purpose. It provides a platform from which we may observe."**

"Our galaxy?"

"**Yes. We ponder what you call 'life' and how it may be removed."**

"Why erase life?"

"**It interferes with our purpose."**

"But life gives purpose."

"**Be silent. Your philosophy irks us."**

"If truth is a crime, then I am glad to be condemned."

"**Death is swifter for those who welcome it."**

"And what of you, whose existence is naught but death itself?"

"Do you even have personalities?"

"**We are above and beyond such superficial means of being."**

"**We are one with the Totality."**

"**We are one with the Void."**

888

They took us nearer the 'planet' core. For hours we walked in complete obscurity, following our walking dead hosts. The Dark Side thrummed around us, hating our presence, hating our life. Its whispers creep with delicate precision into your mind, webbing your body and soul in its tendrils that suck your essence little by little. Those touched by it are never truly freed from its embrace. Pallor marks the face. Eyes are sunken, withdrawn, as though reality itself is unbearable to look at. More than anything, fear inflicts the heart. Fear of losing your life, fear of the unknown, fear of worthlessness and meaninglessness. No wonder the Sith are driven so hard to conquer and destroy – they are afraid of the horror inside them, governing their actions. We, who are messengers of light, felt its awful cold touch keenly. We who had basked in radiance were steeped in death's shadow. Yet we survived. We had each other. These Sith… they did not even have self.

"**Who are these that descend to deepest hell and yet live?"** rumbled a voice whose echoes washed over the planet in waves. Thus we beheld the one who held together this grim outpost with Force alone. If its subordinates were hollow, this Being was a gaping hole in the Force, drawing all life into the Dark Side's ravish.

"We are Stargazers, heralds of the Light you know not."

"**Do you fail to comprehend the enormity of the situation?" **it mocked, **"We are the forerunners. The true Empire is preparing elsewhere."**

"If we can delay them by stopping you, then we shall!" Jen proclaimed. Proud of her, I also gave a rebuttal, "We will not allow the galaxy to fall. It is not yet ready."

"**You seek to delay the Great War? Pitiful humans, your lives are mine."**

The weight of a planet bore down on us, seeking to crush our lives. We resisted mightily, pure energy crackling around the planet core, causing the other Sith to retreat. Yet their leader compelled us, shaking our resolve.

"**You belong to the Dark Side. It possesses more power than is imaginable."**

A curious moment of lucidity passed between Jen and I. Here we were, nearer to death than ever before, an entire planet cracking down on our heads.

"You desire power?" I gasped, "Then take it! _Take it all!"_

We directed our Force to that abomination. Absorbing our bodies and mind, it grew in power, until its evil filled that place. A triumphant shout resounded as we fell.

"**Yes! The Dark Side conquers all! Power shall set us free!"**

"Power? What power?" I whispered, "You have no power. By taking our lives… you become that which your Master hates…"

The planet shuddered. The Being shivered.

"**What? But I am stronger than before! I have devoured Life! I…"**

To my grim satisfaction, it understood, as the Dark Side encircled it, hissing malevolently.

"**NO! I am NOT like them! I have no life but yours! My power shall eradicate…"**

The Being, filled with our lives, collapsed under the Dark Side's hatred for all life. It was crushed until its energies were freed, our spirits included. Though the Dark Side howled its defiance, though its claws raked at our souls, it could not prevent life returning to us.

"And that…" Jen breathed to the vengeful spectre, "Is a truth you will never escape."

It roared. The planet dissolved with nothing to maintain it. Hand in hand, Jen and I soared up and out of the mighty fissures appearing all over that dark land, leaping over disintegrating rock and scaling heaving mountains that reared up to crash upon the doomed world. Boarding _Stardust,_ we strained to escape that gravity well that pulled and pulled all matter into it. Snapping free, we achieved hyperspace.


	8. Advice

"Joe… is what they said true?"

We relaxed in the cockpit, gazing at the glowing tunnel through which _Stardust_ streaked faster than light.

"I do believe the Sith exist elsewhere, in other galaxies. But remember, where there is darkness, there is light. We are not fighting alone. The Force we know would not allow the Sith to prosper unchecked if they do exist outside known space."

"I see. Even when Jedi seem to disappear from the galaxy, there is always one left to continue the Light Side's work."

"Yes. The Force is the only player I know who can win dejarik with a single pawn."

"_Or in your case, two."_

We smiled.

"It is good to hear you again."

"_How is my temperamental half?"_

"Frustrated. Our lives somehow returned to us after being taken away."

"_That is my nature. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When you were killed, life blazed forth."_

"That is illogical."

"_To you, perhaps."_

We dipped into known space, and wept tears of joy to see our home intact, whole, and alive.

888

For another nine hundred years we roved the galaxy with only _Stardust_ as our dwelling place. We stopped a Sith uprising here, quelled a rebellion there. We were unofficial Watchman and Watchwoman of the galactic byways. We saw civilizations rise and fall. We explored every inch of known space. Knowledge augmented our wisdom until there was little we did not know. We needed no translating device to speak the six thousand or so languages that erupted from colonies and cities alike. We hunted with the Wookies of Kashyyyk. Knowing the role they would play, we skirted the Outer Rim to teach the Mandalorians the essence of honourable combat so that history would not write them off as total barbarians.

We feasted Nal Hutta style with the Hutts, danced with the Twi'leks and swam with the Nautolans. We averted a fashion disaster by showing the Matukai how to dye their robes in grey stripes rather than the ghastly yellow they originally proposed. Our more amusing pursuits were rebuking the Geonosians for being hive minded, teaching a Barabel how to sing and tricking a Devaronian into selling his horns. There was a time Trandoshans and Aqualish hunted us. We showed them the error of their ways. We turned some vicious Tusken Raiders into moisture farmers by pulling water from the deserts of Tatooine. While haunting ancient cities we made fast friends with inquisitive Jawas by giving them maps to every abandoned moisture farm we found, thus discouraging them from pillaging the precious relics of the past that, like us, would fade with time.

We did learn. An artfully inclined Bith (whose debts we paid off) taught us the musical horn. We learnt the tribal drums from the Ewoks and a surprising number of uses – medical or otherwise – for common plants. The Chandra-Fan taught us to be more observant of our surroundings, using our five senses rather than the Force. We learnt how to _really_ laugh with the Ithorians, how to tweak the stock market by observing the Rodians and engaged in profound meditation within the libraries of Ossus. We did not forget the Council: everywhere we went, when we interacted with another race, we felt the Force grow ever stronger with us. In turn, we sought out the Force sensitive and encouraged them to join the Jedi ranks. For the war to come, many who we converted would not survive, but their lives would help the galaxy survive. Ours was a task born out of necessity. We gazed upon the stars, and the stars blessed us.

888

At last we settled upon Corellia, the home world of humans. Sated from our travels, we gave _Stardust_ a new ID signature and sold it as a freight vessel. Rumour has it that people kept stealing the ship and called it a _Hawk_ of some sort. Now that that chapter of our life was closed, we cleaned our clothes from the dust of a thousand worlds and became hermits. Nestled at the foot of purple mountains, among the windswept plains, we knew serenity from the cozy view of our unassuming huts. At one time, Revan took a break from galactic conquest to visit, expecting to convert us to her cause.

"You have already been touched by the true Sith Empire, I feel their scars upon you. Join me in this effort, Stargazers. The only way to counteract this darkness is to embrace it. I survived because I became like them, and that is how I shall bring war to them."

I replied, "While I agree that betrayal is a powerful thing, this war is not about power, rather, the lack of it. Facing the Light and Dark Side, we realize that we have no power, only choice. You know this, Revan. You made a choice, albeit the wrong one, in order to survive."

"And I will live on!" she shouted, attempting to stare us down, "I will conquer this galaxy in order to save it from the Sith! There must be conversion, because our enemies' darkest powers are too much for those who obey the Light!"

Due to our wisdom and age, we stared the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy down. Jen reasoned with her, "And what will happen when Darkness drives out Darkness? Will not Darkness prevail? Light must drive out Darkness, Revan; else all your struggles shall be in vain."

Truth caused much fury in that tainted woman.

"Henceforth you are my enemies. You, who preach nonsense in the encroaching shadows! The galaxy is not like you, Stargazers. The galaxy does not possess the strength you do!"

"How little faith you place in the galaxy," I murmured, "How shortsighted is your vision. Do you truly believe that the galaxy will be saved by your actions, and the Sith annihilated by your hands? No, little Jedi, it is not you alone, but the sacrifice of many that shall be the galaxy's salvation."

In retrospect, my words were harsh in their stark precision and caused Revan to leave before we could counsel her further. Then again, everything happens for a reason.

In response to Revan's fall, in response to the disheartening visions we saw, Jen and I decided to have children. Our time was nearing its end, anyway, and it was better that someone younger watch over the galaxy. Moreover, children are the purest life-forms, holding limitless potential, probability, and the perpetual rebirth of redemption. My musings aside, people often wonder what happens when Jedi mate. For the sake of my children, I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say, the earth _did _move. Jen and I spent the next week nudging Corellia back into proper orbit while Corellians wondered why their sun suddenly rose in the northeast.

Bob and Alice have our eyes, except that Bob has his mother's strong sense of justice and Alice has my mild disposition. While we raised our children from birth to infancy, the galaxy changed. That damned jawless Malak, whose ambition was a poor match for his inferiority complex, went around bombarding planets with all the subtlety of a brat throwing tantrums. He earned my further wrath by destroying the Jedi Temple on Corellia. I saw the place of my childhood go up in smoke. I raised my hand to obliterate that fleet of his, to show Malak the wage of his sins, but the Force bent its brow and wagged its finger, reminding me that vengeance was not mine. Revan literally crushed the Mandalorians on Malachor V. Worse than this continuous genocide was that her Exile General tasted life without the Force, becoming a threat to the Force itself! However, I converted Sar-Salan, which is another story. That led to the Exile's trial and subsequent choices, which averted the death of the Force.

888

Well, you can stop reading now. Switch off that datapad and tell someone near to you that you need them in your life. People enjoy being needed. If you have a few minutes to spare, or want a topic of discussion for your sojourn to the local cantina, read an old man's rants. There is no pride, no arrogance left in me to say that Jen and I have caused everything to happen so far. It was all the Force's doing, and to this day I know not what it purports for this galaxy. While I type on this datapad I see the future. Our children shall make their choices, helping the galaxy survive for good or for ill until the Chosen One is born (so much for _my_ ego). From there he shall bring about a New Republic to replace the ailing one we currently live with. Though beleaguered by Sith threats and inner turmoil, the galaxy shall be the stronger for it, wiser and more sober when it comes to dealing with cosmic evils.

I do not know why the Force takes such a long time to balance out, and it probably never will, but I do know one thing. There is redemption. There is a reason for living. If you do not feel the Force, do not despair. The majority of the galaxy lives without it and does just fine. Your personal happiness and fulfillment will in no way be lessened or increased by knowing the Force. If the Force has you, then do not follow the Jedi Code or the Sith Code. Each Code consists of flawed perceptions written by old men who lived in total isolation from what is useful and seemly to this galaxy. Jedi arrogance and Sith corruption begin when Jedi believe that what they are doing is more important than what everyone else is doing. What nonsense! If the Jedi seek to move the galaxy to their whim, they are welcome to try. If the Sith seek to destroy the Jedi, they are welcome to try. In this life there is no such thing as victory. There is only consequence, one action leading to another. Those who ignore the instincts and emotions they are born with are not truly alive. It is life that gives meaning, not the lack of it! Those who believe in a Code that brings about victory while ignoring consequence fall far, far short of what life is all about.

My advice to you is to be an eminently practical person, for there is a deep, core satisfaction derived from being useful to others. I tell you religionists, one may forsake the inadequacy and disorganization of everyday life to pray atop the mountains, but all that returns shall be an echo of you, and there is something frighteningly alone about that. I tell you scholars, the more you know, the less you will know, but never let doubt stop you from searching, because you will find it. I tell you all, when faced with a galaxy desperately in need of redemptive joy, yearning for the touch of another that can only be found in your fellow life form, you must let go of your pride. It is not such a terrible thing.

Though the Force binds all life, your life is not predetermined, because life is sometimes coherent as dejarik, sometimes disordered as pazaak – in the final analysis, things occur far too randomly for there to be any 'plan' other than your own. On that note, while increasing your own strengths, dear reader, choose what is edifying and what is uplifting. This universe has too much chaos and too much uncertainty, and I believe we are here to defy them with common sense and good judgment. All knowledge necessary for living is already given to you. Nobody ever begins as a blank slate – we all know how to love, how to trust, how to obey. All darkness cannot snuff a single ray of light, so I say to you, whatever you do, do it boldly, and you shall be set free from whatever would deny you the redemption that is… and always will be… rightfully yours.

An open door is set before you, and none may shut it. You need only realize that the door _is_ there.


End file.
